Disposable paint applicator

ABSTRACT

DISPOSABLE PAINT APPLICATOR COMPRISING A LAMINATED CARDBOARD HANDLE, A THIN FLEXIBLE PLASTIC TANG ADHESIVELY SECURED THERETO, THE TANG AND A PORTION OF THE HANDLE BEING EMDEDDED AND ADHESIVELY SECURED TO A BLOCK OF FOAMED CELLULAR PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING A BEVELED FREE EDGE FOR THE APPLICATION OF PAINT.

' WWWAWMW mmmmmmWWW Feb. 16, 1971 R BURTON ET AL 3,562,838

DISPOSABLE PAINT APPLICATOR Filed Jan. 23. 1969 INVENTORS RUSSEL A BURTON JOHN l. MAXIM ATTORNEY United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Disposable paint applicator comprising a laminated cardboard handle, a thin flexible plastic tang adhesively secured thereto, the tang and a portion of the handle being embedded and adhesively secured to a block of foamed cellular plastic material having a *beveled free edge for the application of paint.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There have been many throw-away paint Spreaders. Some have a disposable foamed cellular paint-spreading member detachably connected with respect to a permanent handle so that when the paint spreader is desired to be disposed of, it is detached from the handle and a new paint spreader is applied. This is unnecessarily expensive and in many cases it is a messy job to change the paint spreaders. Other forms have been foamed or cellular plastic paint spreaders permanently attached for instance to a wooden handle or the like. Such spreaders are reasonably in expensive but in order to maintain a low price, the wooden handle has to be in the form of a dowel stick which is unsightly and is sometimes awkward to manipulate in spreading the paint. Still other forms of disposable paintbrushes have been suggested, but in all cases there has been an element of expensiveness or awkwardness inherent in these devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an extremely inexpensive, easily manipulated and convenient paint spreader through the use of a block of foamed cellular paintspreading material having a free beveled edge and having a slot or recess in the opposite edge in which is permanently mounted preferably by adhesive means a cardboard handle which is easy and convenient to use. This spreader is so inexpensive that once used it can be thrown away.

The cardboard handle comprises three main layers adhesively secured together, the two outer layers being slightly longer than the inner layer, leaving a gap, and in this gap there is received and permanently secured the rear edge portion of a generally flexible plastic paint applicator sti'lfener which is rigid enough to be self-sustaining but is easily flexed in the action of spreading paint, so that the action is very similar to that of a paintbrush using filaments. The plastic member may be referred to as a tang and has a free edge located inside the foam cellular plastic paint application and extends generally throughout the same except at the beveled edge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the invention;

Patented Feb. 16, 1971 FIG. 2 is a plan view, partly in section thereof, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the joint between the plastic tang and the cardboard handle.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The reference numeral 10 indicates a paint spreader or applicator comprising a block of foamed spongy cellular plastic material of a type which is well known in the art and has been used heretofore for spreading paint. This block is flat as shown and generally square or rectangular having a free beveled edge at 12 for the purpose of spreading the paint.

In the present case the paint applicator 10 has a rear edge 14 which is square cut and is provided with an inwardly directed, centrally located slot indicated at 16, this slot being rectangular and elongated, the entrance thereof being indicated at 18 and the terminal or closed end portion thereof being indicated at 20.

The reference numeral 22 indicates the handle by which the paint applicator 10 is to be manipulated. This handle comprises in general three main laminations or superposed members which may be cut out in the shape of a handle, see FIG. 2, comprising a pair of outer members 24 and 26 which are alike, and an inner member 28 which is similar in shape to members 24 and 26 but is shorter as indicated at the terminal portion 30 thereof, see particularly FIGS. 2 and 3, leaving a gap at the forward end portion of the handle.

In this gap there is inserted a plastic stiffening tang 32. This plastic tang is flexible but rigid enough to be selfsustaining and its purpose is to stiffen the paint applicator 10 so that it will bend approximately at a terminal line 34, this representing the innermost extent of the cardboard members 24 and 26. The plastic tang 32 is approximately the thickness of the center lamination 28 as shown in FIG. 3, leaving narrow spaces 36, 36 at either side of the tang 32 and the side walls of the pocket cut into the foamed cellular paint applicator 10. This increases the softness of the paint applicator but at the same time of course the flexible plastic strip 32 maintains a certain degree of rigidity for the paint applicator which would not otherwise be present.

In assembling the parts of the present paint applicator, pressure or heat-sensitive adhesive material 38, 38 may be, applied to the inner surfaces of the laminations 24 and 26, and when the plastic member 32 and the inner cardboard member 28 are assembled, they therefore automatically stick together forming a unit which is then thrust into the recess in the cellular plastic paint applicator 10 through the opening at 18, the free forward edge 40 of the plastic strip 32 coming to rest on the lower edge or bottom 20 of the recess in the paint applicator.

The laminated construction of the handle lends itself to the use of plywood in three layers, instead of cardboard, and the handle might also be made of plastic in the same shape with a gap for the tang, as shown and described.

A staple 40 may be used to mechanically secure the parts if this extra securement should be desired. The points 42 of this staple flare out away from each other.

We claim:

1. A paint applicator comprising a free-ended handle and a slotted spongy cellular plastic paint applying memher in the form of a block attached to said handle at the opposite end thereof;

said handle comprising a generally three-part laminate member, the laminations thereof being generally coextensive at the free end of the handle, the central lamination being shorter than the two outside membars at the paint applying end of the handle, and a plastic tang located in the gap afl'orded by said shorter central lamination, said shorter central member having an end forming a stop to locate said plastic tang at its inner end, the tang extending from the paint applying end of the handle and into the slot in the spongy cellular paint applying member, and mechanical means securing the handle to the tang. 2. The paint applicator of claim 1 wherein the handle and tang are adhesively intersecured.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 13,094,729 6/1963 Dalton 15-223X 3,081,475 3/)1963 Vosbikian et 'al. 15244 5 3,105,263 10/1963 Ginter l5244 3,271,807 9/1966 Cabot 15--223 3,366,988 2/1968 Menkin et a1. 15-244 FOREIGN PATENTS 10 100,287 7/1962 Norway 15210 BILLY J. WLLHITE, Primary Examiner L. G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner 15 U.S. c1. X.R. 

